Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-03-04
She could not make it out.

you are a bad sailor, ana would ne Upset
at sea, and the barometer has been fall
ing, and see by the paper that the storm
signals are up, and so we had better post
ponc our departure.
"Till the storm Is overf
"Oh, yesl till the storm is over.
What was the meaning of the altera-
ton in his manner and tone of voice, even
in the appearance his face wore! They
were in the train. He made her get out
at a station where there were branches
and cross lines in all directions. They
changed platforms. took fresh tickets,
got out again; had n cab. Took the |
Metropolitan; then another cab, and at
last drew up,
'Your lodgings seem very difficult to
reach, =" said Trip.
"Thcy are sequestercd," he answered; !
"more suitable for lovers"
The house at which the cab deposited |
Trip and her husband was n small half !
villa at Lower Norwood, in new road
half made, and where the row of houses
was only half built The garden was
uncultivated, a small patch in front of
the door; the turf was not even green.
The entrance door was fresh painted and
stuck. When it was opened, admission
was obtained into a small hall, so narrow
that two could i'll walk abreast in it. The
mean stairs We're steep and unexpected.
There was accommodation only on one
side-the right side of the house; n blank
wall divided this h.lf house from the
other half house There was u parlOr on
the ground floor and a small dining room
in the rear, opening into a yard, The
furniture was of the plainest description
and sparse. Only one servant appeared,
an i'll favored, elderly, smallpox marked
woman.
Trip was puzzled and frightened, and
very ready to cry. She was afraid to ask
questions and afraid to express her dis
appointment
For supper there were mutton chops
and boiled potatoes, and cold rice pud
ding; no wine, but ale and whisky and
water.
Certainly the style of living was better
at Ringwood, though the Tottenhams
did belong to trade, and had no prctense
to Il duke in the family.
That Mr. Beaufort was very fond of
| Trip was the only reality of her dream,
and it was the reality she could best have
spared. She did not care for him; in
deed. as her marriage drew on she had
felt shrinking from him, and now that
she was married awoke to the fact that
she dislikcd him
There are some persons with whom you
may pass Il score of years, and whom you
may meet every day, and yet you get no
nearer to knowing them. You know
Eheir eXtcriors, every line of their faces,
every mole and blemish in the skin; you
know their tones of voice their walk,
but you never get within, to know their
true natures to feel that you have
touched pulse, not a bit of cloth or
sable jacket.
There are other individuals whom we
fear to look into. We know that some
day or other the peep will be given, and
we shall see what we had much rather
not. We are glad to know their exterior
only, and dread the day when they shall
become transparent to us.
Some such II feeling was in the heart
of Trip. She began to fear her husband,
to suspect that under the surface she
should come on. not a hidden treasure,
but dead mems bones and rottenness.
Day after day passed and Trip was
very dull She asked if the Norway eX-
cursion were finally abandoned. lie said
it was so; but gave no reason. Had the
storm that was expected missed its
course? lie did not know.
Were they going into Gloucestershiref
He laughed at the question The foun-
dations of the house were not laid. The
estate was in Cloudland.
Occasionally he took her ont. Once to
the Tower, once to the Crystal Palace;
but he did not like visiting public resorts
apparently, for he seemed uneasy when
there, took no pleasure in the sights, and
was impatient to get away.
Trip asked her husband if she might
write home; as she was not going abroad,
she would like to send a line to her
mother. He peremptorily refused to al
low her to write. Not for a month,
mind you: your mother expects no letter,
and will not be uneasy about you. Let
her believe you are in Norway. What
matters:n
But why this mystery, Algernon"
"Why-mystery?' he rubbed his chin.
"There is no mystery, You don't under
stand. | have objections. My friends
and relatives may call, and don't want
'em to come in and find your mother
here. If you wrote, she'd be fumbling in
with her airs and grimaces.n
Trip was hurt.
why do you 90 out so much and
leave me alOnc?''
Il have business, and business must he
attended to-
"What is your business
"NOthing that you can understand"
. 81 insist on knowing said Trip, with
spirit, He looked at her with surprise
"Well, then, | have political occupa-
ton, am secretary to n Liberal club; We
have to work for elections, and see and
arrange with agents, organize meetings
and so on. What do you know about
politics? Are you much the wiser now?'
No; Trip had to admit that she was
not.
Trip only half believed her husband
when he said this. She was ashamed OF
herself for the mistrust which grew on
her, and made her doubt everything he
said, and everything he had said to her
Not one of his promises had he fulfilled
His boastful words had been utterly
false. He would not suffer her to leave
the house by herself He pretended that
| she would lose her way. But she argued
unless she went ont and about, and did
lose herself occasionally, how was she
ever to find her way at alli His hours
were irregular and strange. He was on,